


Chisame and Chiu: Adventures in Narcissism

by Yelir61



Category: Mahou Sensei Negima!
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 15:50:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10030157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yelir61/pseuds/Yelir61
Summary: Given the chance to try out a more human body, Chachamaru picks an interesting appearance.





	

Satomi adjusted her glasses, peering more closely at the material in front of her. “Fascinating!” she exclaimed, poking it. “The appearance, the texture!” Her tongue darted out touching it briefly. “The taste! It is indistinguishable from human skin!” she said triumphantly.

“Why is it important that it taste correct?” Chachamaru asked, cocking her head.

Satomi ignored this question. “This is perfect. Hair, of course, has been among the easiest things to create synthetically. But skin was always much harder, at least to do convincingly. Most substitutes were far too rubbery, or stiff. But this is an ideal building material,” she said triumphantly, holding the scrap of skin above her head. “With this, I could craft a machine indistinguishable from a human being. Robots could finally walk among us, unseen and unrecognized, infiltrating every level of society.”

“Infiltrating?” Chachamaru asked inquisitively. “What would be the purpose of robots infiltrating human society?”

Satomi blinked a few times, before frowning. “Oh, I am certain it will be useful somehow,” she said, waving a hand. “The important thing is that we prove it possible first. Have you selected someone you wish to replace?”

“We agreed I was simply to look like them. Not actively replace them,” the robot said, folding her arms. Though it did not come naturally to her, Chachamaru had found that she sometimes had to be assertive to curb Satomi’s more impulsive scientific endeavors. Evangeline was less likely to make self-destructive decisions, and usually durable enough to survive them when she did. Chachamaru had a feeling that Satomi would already have an angry mob after her, if she lived anywhere else but Mahora.

“Yes, yes,” Satomi said dismissively. “Have you selected someone?”

 

Chisame sighed, checking her website. Though her traffic was through the roof, she found that posing as Chiu had lost some of its luster. With her Pactio, it was simple to maintain her web popularity at a steady height that she would previously have been ecstatic to achieve. But with the challenge gone, Chisame had found less and less reason to check in. She hadn’t even posted anything in nearly a month.

Scanning through her fanmail, one heading caught her eye. “Real-Life Sighting!!!!” it read. Chisame clicked on it, amused. Most of the pictures people sent saying that they had seen her were far too old or young, though there had been a few genuine lookalikes. No one had ever sent her a picture of herself, of course. Chisame was always careful to be perfectly normal in public.

Chisame made the classic mistake of taking a sip of her instant tea before the picture loaded. As a result, her screen ended up covered with the drink as she choked, momentarily covering the image until she wiped it away hastily. It was undoubtedly a picture of Chiu, though dressed in ordinary clothing. She appeared to be on the subway, looking out the window with a small smile on her face. The picture had obviously been taken with a phone instead of the high quality camera Chisame used, but it was unmistakably her, in a stylish black coat and no glasses.

Except, she didn’t have a coat like that, and she never went out in the real world without her glasses. After her initial shock, Chisame scowled. “Magic,” she said, as though it were a curse. “That brat must have something to do with this!” From the timestamp on the photo, it had been taken only a few minutes ago. She summoned her electronic mice. “Find out where that girl is,” she said, pointing. “No, not me, don’t point at me! Find her, and tell me where she is.” The mice scattered, disappearing through the walls and windows. Chisame sat back in her chair, brooding.

It was strange, seeing a picture of Chiu she hadn’t taken. Though the photo had clearly not undergone any editing, the girl appeared as cute as she did in any in of her collections. But there seemed to be another emotional layer. With the jacket and the subway setting, it seemed to tell a story, of someone returning home after a long day’s work, happy but ready to rest. It was oddly calming to look at, and against her will, Chisame began to feel her irritation subside. _“Maybe I should try some outdoor settings like that,_ ” she thought. “ _I could probably edit them in easily enough._ ” 

A knock at the door shook her from her thoughts. Rising, she put on her irritated face again, ready to yell at the brat if he’d come to apologize for some magical mishap. Instead, upon opening the door, she found herself face to face with...well, herself. Even having seen the photo, the shock was enough to silence her.

Chiu smiled slightly upon seeing Chisame. “Good evening,” she said, bowing formally. “I am sorry for intruding.” She was still dressed in the black jacket, and was holding a small plastic bag.

Chisame finally found her voice. “Who are you? Why do you look like m-like that,” she amended hastily. There might be people in the halls still, and she didn’t want the secret of her identity to spread any farther than it already had.

Chiu bit her lip, an expression of nervousness that some small part of Chismae’s mind found inordinately cute. “I am Chachamaru,” she said quietly. “May I come in and make you some tea? I believe that I owe you an explanation. And, probably, an apology.”


End file.
